Last year an explosion of one of the Rolls-Royce engines on a Qantas A380 flight meant that the airline had to ground its fleet for some considerable time while it undertook tests on the safety of the aircraft and engines.

Qantas say the problems cost AU$55 million (£34.2m) in the first half and warned there would be another AU $25 million (£15.5m) charge in the second half results. Qantas is still in talks with Rolls-Royce over compensation, however, it says it has not ruled out taking legal action however.

Despite the disruption, Qantas reported that its first half net profits had risen four-fold to AU$241 million (£150m). Underlying profit before tax rose 56% to AU$417 million, as sales grew 10% to AU$7.59 billion over the second half of last year.